


For When You Get the Chance

by CaptainLuxCanis



Series: Beneath a Chandelier of Stars & Atmosphere [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Angst, Drunkenness, F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 13:53:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6242011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLuxCanis/pseuds/CaptainLuxCanis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Theron is coaxed by a drunken SIS agent to write his feelings in a letter to Corona'lux - who he believes to be dead - after the death of Darth Marr and apparent death of Darth Nox at the hands of the Eternal Empire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For When You Get the Chance

**Author's Note:**

> My head canon for SWTOR is my Sith Inquisitor is the Apprentice of my boyfriend’s Sith Inquisitor.. so the letter from Theron in KOTFE would be slightly different, since she wasn’t frozen in carbonite.

Maaike Konshi stood from her desk as the chrono indicated it was time for her to go home. The rest of the 20-something members of staff, who worked in the SIS Analytics department with her, noticed her movement and glanced toward the chrono too. With no windows, it was difficult to lose track of time in the office but today Maaike was counting the seconds.

Not only was the understaffed team working double shifts – which was not unusual – but the things they had to read and analyse were getting more and more savage. This new threat, The Eternal Empire, was far worse than the just-plain-ordinary Empire. She had read they had killed Darth Marr and Darth Nox. Not that she was saddened by the news, but anyone who could down such well-known, well-feared members of the Dark Council were formidable indeed.

But what was really bothering her was she had had a holocall from her parents in the middle of the night. Full of worry, she answered only to find they were again talking to her about their desire she join the Order, that her brother was fighting to save people and all the things she’d heard a hundred times before. But this time her mother had informed her she was coming to Coruscant to talk to her face to face. Maaike was dreading the mere thought.

So she’d decided she would go to Dealer’s Den and let off some steam. She was still a member of SIS, though, and would keep a limit to how much she gambled and drank. But really, she just needed the release.

\- - - -

Walking into Coruscant's most famous cantina she was hit by a wall of sound. The band, the laughing, singing and swearing. Her instincts to go back home were dulled by her need to drink. She ordered one of a purple hue and sat at the bar, trying to think about anything but her mother’s visit.

After two more she noticed a man sat on the other side of the bar, pouring over a datapad. He looked like he was in pain though mental or physical she couldn’t tell. She knew the man, somehow. She had seen him before. She realised where from and decided in her inebriated mind to go sit with him. He looked like he could use the company, after all.

“Hey, I know you,” she slurred slightly taking the stool next to him. He glanced at her briefly then looked back at his datapad. “You know, work hours are over, put that away and enjoy a drink with me.”

“I don’t tend to drink for enjoyment,” he replied simply.

“Right… well… what if I buy you one, huh? Free drink is better than paying for one, don’t you think?”

“Listen, I don’t want any company, okay?”

“What’s the matter, Agent? Something on that datapad got you down? Put it away, forget about it, drink to forget about it,” she said with a drunken smile.

“I appreciate the concern, but really, I’d rather be alone,” his eyes didn’t shift from the datapad and Maaike couldn’t help her curiosity and glanced at the message he had displayed on it.

“Lana Beniko? She’s a Sith, no wonder you look scared,” the Agent suddenly looked her full in the face, his golden eyes blazing with anger.

“You have no right to look at my personal message,” he looked back down at it and swiped it away for a blank one. “And I’m not scared of Lana.”

“If you’re in contact with a Sith you really should-”

“It’s none of your business,” he growled, downing the shot that had been sat next to him since before she’d moved seats.

“I know who you are,” she slurred again. “We worked together.” He raised an eyebrow at this, though still didn’t look away from the empty message, the action pulled at the implant over his left eye, she wondered if it hurt.

“I work alone,” he said distracted and she suspected it was a mantra of his.

“But you worked with those Sith before, on Rishi and Yavin 4, I saw the reports, I worked on ‘em. Not always alone, it seems.”

\- - - -

“Analytics,” Theron realised, looking up and seeing his unwanted companion for the first time since she had sat next to him. The Kiffar had a blue chevron on each cheek, she was pretty, he realised, not that it mattered. His life was falling apart around him and this drunken member of SIS wanted a chat.

“Yeah, ‘xactly. You worked in my office a while back. Operation End Game. Then went and fulfilled the paperwork. A rare thing. I prefer desk work, personally. Too much risk in the field.” She was examining the empty glass that was in her left hand and gesturing drunkenly with her right.

“Someone has to do it. I think I’d go under if I had to sit at a desk every day. Almost did during those three months,” he’d resigned to the fact that the woman wasn’t leaving, and she didn’t seem to want to cause trouble, so responded.

“Not my risk,” she pointed to herself “others. I’m not good to have out on the field. That’s why I left the Order.”

“You’re a Jedi?” he looked up, baffled.

“Was gonna be. Realised being Kiffar wasn’t great when it came to the psychometry part. Mine is extra sensitive but my Force stuff is pretty weak,” she wiggled her fingers at him and laughed.

“So you saw a lot of bad things? Even before you got to any real battles?”

“Yeah..,” she trailed off and looked downcast then tried to pull on a smile. “My brother is the Jedi of the family, not me. Apprentice to the Grand Master.”

Theron was taken aback by the unexpected mention of his mother. It only made him think of the last time they’d spoken. Ziost. The last time I saw… he couldn’t even think her name, the pain was too great.

“How about that drink?” he asked. The Kiffar perked up and ordered something for them both. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Maaike,” she beamed, sticking out her hand.

“Theron,” he shook it.

\- - - -

Maaike found Theron’s stories of fieldwork thrilling, she remembered many of them from reports but to hear the details from someone who had been there was a whole different deal to the way the reports were written.

She suspected he was only talking because it was distracting him from the datapad still sat in front of him, but she didn’t mind. She was using him for a drinking buddy, he was using her as a distraction. This is how friendships are made, mutual using.

“Okay, okay,” she slurred raising her hands in front of her. “You destroyed the ship, happy ending. What I’m interested in is Rishi and Yavin and Ziost. Those events led to what is happening in our galaxy right now. From a professional point of view, it would be useful to learn more about it. Especially since The Eternal Empire just brought down Darth’s Marr and Nox.”

“You’ve read the reports,” he said with that pained look again. “There’s nothing more to tell.”

“I don’t believe you,” she raised an eyebrow.

“So don’t believe me,” he said angered, scooping up his datapad and turning on his stool to stand.

“No, wait-,” she leant forward to grab him before he could leave but instead her hand landed on the datapad.

The cantina disappeared and she saw a command room, a computer terminal in the middle. Walking toward her was none other than Darth Nox and his apprentice. To the side of her stood Lana Beniko.

Get me out of here.

Datapad in one hand, the hand of the apprentice came toward her and she stretched out the free hand that was not hers to take it and they shook in greeting.

The next moment she was plunged into darkness. Her eyes adjusted to find she was in a badly lit shack of some kind. Walking outside into the bright heat of the day she again saw Darth Nox and his apprentice stood opposite Lana Beniko. She felt her heart race a little but wasn’t sure why - it wasn’t her own heart that was reacting to the situation.

After a short chat, they all entered the shack. She was now subjected to quick bursts of different days within the place. Planning on overthrowing the Revanites bit by bit, always paying extra attention to the apprentice in the back of her mind, not something that was coming from her own mind but the mind of Theron, whose eyes she knew she was seeing through.

I guess I didn’t need him to tell me about his mission on Rishi after all.

A moment later her body ached and she was running down a hall, away from blaster bolts hitting the walls she ran by. Safely locking a heavy door between the attackers and herself she found herself being embraced by the apprentice.

“You’re alive,” she sighed with relief, her blue lips parting with a smile, “I wasn’t sure for a moment there.” Maaike felt herself smile down at her.

“I was halfway through the door when I’d seen you’d shown up to rescue me. Should’ve known you would,” she felt her mouth move, her heart increasing again.

The Republic’s best agent has a thing for the Sith... the Apprentice of Nox who was recently killed, her likely along with him. Lana Beniko must have told him in the message and that’s why he’s here drinking. Poor guy.

During her thoughts, many other scenes involving the apprentice appeared to her but she tried to ignore them the best she could, it wasn’t fair, she didn’t want to see these things and he certainly wouldn’t appreciate her seeing them either. They were clearly very personal.

And difficult. Having a thing for a Sith when you’re SIS. Poor guy.

\- - - -

Theron had had enough. He came here to escape his thoughts of those times, not to discuss them in detail. He grabbed his datapad and turned to leave. He saw Maaike go to stop him but her hand landed on the datapad instead of his wrist. All of a sudden he couldn’t move the thing away from her and her eyes had gone misty.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked. She didn’t move, it was like she’d been frozen. He tried wriggling the datapad away from her but it was steadfast. Psychometry. Damn, she said it was powerful in her but this... I’ve never heard of anything like this, no wonder she didn’t want to fight.

As soon as the ability of the Kiffar faded her eyes slowly returned to their proper colour and her hand dropped from the datapad. Theron held on to her shoulders to make sure she didn’t slip off her stool.

“You alright?”

“What’s her name?” she asked, taking two shots in a row. He sat back down next to her, datapad in his lap, looking at his hands resting on top of it.

“Corona,” he almost whispered. “Corona’lux.”

“She might not be-”

“Don’t.” Even if she was alive – which didn’t seem likely – he knew Maaike’s words were more of a courtesy than out of genuine sympathy. Any other SIS agent would be pleased with the news Darth Nox’ apprentice was… not around. I know different. “She isn’t a Sith. She never wanted to be Sith or Jedi but she was sold to the Academy from slavery. She didn’t have much choice in the matter,” he said defiantly seemingly out of nowhere, his head still pointing to his hands in his lap.

“That message from Lana Beniko.. it was about her wasn’t it?” Theron nodded. “Does it say she’s.. gone? Definitely?” she said cautiously. His head lifted.

“No. No, it doesn’t.”

“Then maybe she’s out there. Stranded, hiding, plotting?”

“I-” he paused. “Maybe.”

“If you really care about her you should let her know,” she spoke with drunken knowledge. “She might be dead,” she took another shot “but if she’s not, don’t you think you’ll win a few points with her if you send her a message letting her know you’re here for her?”

“You know, if you can think this straight while drunk, you must be a real asset to the Analytics department while sober.” She beamed at him then pointed to the datapad.

“Go on, it might make you feel better.” Theron sighed but relented.

“Okay,” he sat stooped over his datapad for a while then showed Maaike to read.

“Too formal, you’re not talking to the Director.”

“Hum..,” he made a few changes then showed her again. She shook her head.

After a dozen or so more tries he was getting frustrated.

“From the heart or not at all," she waggled her finger at him.

“From the heart or not at all..,” he repeated. Theron took a deep breath and prepared to finally write down what he had found so difficult to admit to himself since he had last seen Corona on Ziost.

 

>   _To: Lord Corona’lux Imperius_
> 
> _Subject: For when you get the chance._
> 
> _I’ve written this message twice now. Okay, more than twice. Kinda weird writing something that may never be read. Lana says you’ve disappeared from your ship without a trace. (Yeah, we’re in touch. Long story.) I like to think you’re on some tropical planet somewhere, sleeping the last few years of your life off, having one crazy dream. And maybe I’m in it. But I don’t want to presume. We never declared what this–you and me–is… was… And especially after... I'm sorry about that. Have I mentioned I’m bad at relationships? Another reason I’m a workaholic._
> 
> _I’m rambling. The point I’m trying to make is–whatever’s between us, I want you to know that I care about you. A lot. The whole galaxy’s lost its mind. The thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that you’re out there somewhere, and I’m going to find you. I might not be with you now but I haven’t forgotten about you or our time together. I never will._


End file.
